Sheriff Lawrence W. Crow, Jr., is pleased to announce that for the
fourth year in a row, crime
in unincorporated Polk County, over which the Polk County Sheriff's
Office has jurisdiction,
has decreased. In 2003, overall crime went down 4% compared to
the same time period in
2002.

Even more astounding, according to Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics
reported annually
to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, PCSO has seen a decrease
in crime in every
measured category compared to 1997, for an overall decrease of an
incredible 40%.

From January-December 2003, compared to January-December 2002, crime in
unincorporated
Polk in several measured categories had decreases, some of them
double-digit:

Polk
2002

Polk 2003

%
Change 02-03

Homicide

20

16

-20%

Forced Sex

229

237

+4%

Robberies

206

182

-12%

Agg Assault/Batt*

952

1111

+17%

Burglaries

3062

3086

+1%

Larcenies

6601

5983

-9%

Veh Thefts

945

884

-7%

TOTALS

12,015

11,499

-4%

Polk 1997

Polk 2003

% Change 97-03

Homicide

20

16

-20%

Forced Sex

274

237

-14%

Robberies

413

182

-56%

Agg Assault/Batt*

1482

1111

-25%

Burglaries

5961

3086

-48%

Larcenies

8489

5983

-30%

Veh Thefts

2530

884

-41%

TOTALS

19,169

11,499

-40%

*Agg Assault/Batt = Aggravated Assault/Battery

Colonel Grady C. Judd, Jr., attributes these decreases to the success of
the PROCAP
(Proactive Community Attack on Problems) program. He said, "PROCAP began
in January
1998. When we partner with the community and focus our collective
resources on those who commit crime, we make a positive difference. We are excited that crime
is down once again -
at a 40% reduction - and the people are safer today than they have been
in the last 31 years in
unincorporated Polk County*. The jail population is up and crime is
down. In addition, the
amount of stolen property has been cut in half. In 1997, we saw
over $28 Million dollars'
worth of property stolen - of that, we recovered $15 Million. In 2003,
$15 Million dollars'
worth was taken, and $7 Million was recovered."

*The crime rate -- that is, crimes per 1,000 residents -- for 2003 was
3.6%. That's 11,499
crimes per 318,835 residents in unincorporated Polk County. The crime
rate has not been
that low since 1972, when it was 3.35%.